To Everything There is a Season

By Michelle Lancaster

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV)

Ecclesiastes 3 reminds me there’s not just a time to plant and celebrate and build, but there are also times to pluck up, break down, mourn, cast away, and lose. 

I bought a beautiful pot of burnt orange mums for my front porch.  (Fall is such a cozy, life-giving season!) The way to extend the longevity of the plant is to deadhead…Literally plucking off the blooms that have expired. It’s not just for aesthetic purposes. Deadheading allows the nutrients to shift towards the blooms still in their prime. It’s redirecting the energy for the healthy blooms to remain open.

Ecclesiastes 3 makes sense in light of this. We have to deadhead priorities, places, situations, thought patterns, and sometimes even relationships in order to re-shift our resources. 

It means walking away from deferred hope and broken dreams, and the loss of something good in order to set our faces toward the season of planting and rebuilding. 

Choosing to walk through a season of loss is not a Victim’s walk. It’s the walk of the Cross with full confidence that one day, He will make all things new.  We choose the season of deadheading in hopes of the future season of full bloom. 

Fifteen months ago, we won a court hearing that was pivotal to the future of a loved one.  But the courts have failed to execute their own ruling.  Month over month, we have petitioned the courts to stand firm on the law. Yet, in this world that is not yet fully redeemed, the courts remain slow to act justly. 

So, we are beginning to ask the Lord if it’s time to surrender. Is it time to redirect resources away from a broken system? Is it time to uproot, unplant, and break down?

I feel so much grief. No doubt, a season of sadness is headed our way.   The loss of justice. The loss of hope. The painful reality of surrendering to the chaos of this broken world.  Deadheading is painful. 

Yet, in this crossroad, we also choose to cling to the One who can make dead blooms alive again. And trust in His will and perfect timing. 

In surrendering, we would not just walk away from the chaos. We would walk towards a different season and use our energy and resources for profitable things.  Seasons of laughing and dancing. Seasons of healing and building up.

Dear one, I don’t know which season you are in. Whether you are planting or “plucking up that which is planted.” Yet I know you have experienced both seasons before, and you will experience both seasons again. Either way, would you join me in entrusting your season to the One who holds it together?  He is good and loving, and sovereign over all seasons.  He sees you. He knows the season you are walking through. And He knows the season you need in order to lean more fully on Him.